Segregating domain-general from emotional context-specific inhibitory control systems - ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex serve as emotion-cognition integration hubs
Qian Zhuang,
Lei Xu,
Feng Zhou,
Shuxia Yao,
Xiaoxiao Zheng,
Xinqi Zhou,
Jialin Li,
Xiaolei Xu,
Meina Fu,
Keshuang Li,
Deniz Vatansever,
Keith M. Kendrick,
Benjamin Becker
Affiliations
Qian Zhuang
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Lei Xu
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Feng Zhou
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Shuxia Yao
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Xiaoxiao Zheng
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Xinqi Zhou
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Jialin Li
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Xiaolei Xu
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Meina Fu
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Keshuang Li
School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
Deniz Vatansever
Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Keith M. Kendrick
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Corresponding authors at: No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave., West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China.
Benjamin Becker
The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Corresponding authors at: No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave., West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China.
Inhibitory control hierarchically regulates cognitive and emotional systems in the service of adaptive goal-directed behavior across changing task demands and environments. While previous studies convergently determined the contribution of prefrontal-striatal systems to general inhibitory control, findings on the specific circuits that mediate emotional context-specific impact on inhibitory control remained inconclusive. Against this background we combined an evaluated emotional Go/No Go task with fMRI in a large cohort of subjects (N=250) to segregate brain systems and circuits that mediate domain-general from emotion-specific inhibitory control. Particularly during a positive emotional context, behavioral results showed a lower accuracy for No Go trials and a faster response time for Go trials. While the dorsal striatum and lateral frontal regions were involved in inhibitory control irrespective of emotional context, activity in the ventral striatum (VS) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) varied as a function of emotional context. On the voxel-wise whole-brain network level, limbic and striatal systems generally exhibited highest changes in global brain connectivity during inhibitory control, while global brain connectivity of the left mOFC was less decreased during emotional contexts. Functional connectivity analyses moreover revealed that negative coupling between the VS with inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)/insula and mOFC varied as a function of emotional context. Together these findings indicate separable domain- general as well as emotional context-specific inhibitory brain systems which specifically encompass the VS and its connections with frontal regions.
